Economic Freedom and People’s Views of Competition

This paper examines whether the extent to which institutions and policies are market-oriented influences people’s thoughts on the competitive process. Through the use of country-level panel data, as well as a cross-sectional sensitivity analysis linking individual-level and country-level data, this paper examines the effects of general, and five different areas of, economic freedom on people’s views of competition. A central result, found in both analyses, is that a small government is associated with greater support for competition, although the effect is small. Furthermore, greater regulation of the economy is associated with an increase in one measure of country-level competition endorsement. There is also a negative and quite substantial relationship between the quality of the legal system and the percentage of people regarding competition as completely undesirable. Sound money further seems to be negatively associated with the share of people expressing a very strong competition endorsement, although the effect is small. Finally, at the individual-level, free trade seems to be negatively associated with competition endorsement among households in the lowest income decile in particular. The direction of causality is argued to go from economic freedom to views of competition in at least some of these cases. Since competition is widely considered a pivotal prerequisite for any modern market economy, this study can be seen as a contribution to the broader understanding of people’s support for, or opposition against, the capitalist economy in general

Traction Adaptive Motion Planning and Control at the Limits of Handling

In this article, we address the problem of motion planning and control at the limits of handling, under locally varying traction conditions. We propose a novel solution method where traction variations over the prediction horizon are represented by time-varying tire force constraints, derived from a predictive friction estimate. A \CFTOClong (\CFTOCshort) is solved in a receding horizon fashion, imposing these time-varying constraints. Furthermore, our method features an integrated sampling augmentation procedure that addresses the problems of infeasibility and sensitivity to local minima that arise at abrupt constraint alterations, for example, due to sudden friction changes. We validate the proposed algorithm on a Volvo FH16 heavy-duty vehicle, in a range of critical scenarios. Experimental results indicate that traction adaptive motion planning and control improves the vehicle\u27s capacity to avoid accidents, both when adapting to low local traction, by ensuring dynamic feasibility of the planned motion, and when adapting to high local traction, by realizing high traction utilization

Strategies used as spectroscopy of financial markets reveal new stylized facts

We propose a new set of stylized facts quantifying the structure of financial markets. The key idea is to study the combined structure of both investment strategies and prices in order to open a qualitatively new level of understanding of financial and economic markets. We study the detailed order flow on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange of China for the whole year of 2003. This enormous dataset allows us to compare (i) a closed national market (A-shares) with an international market (B-shares), (ii) individuals and institutions and (iii) real investors to random strategies with respect to timing that share otherwise all other characteristics. We find that more trading results in smaller net return due to trading frictions. We unveiled quantitative power laws with non-trivial exponents, that quantify the deterioration of performance with frequency and with holding period of the strategies used by investors. Random strategies are found to perform much better than real ones, both for winners and losers. Surprising large arbitrage opportunities exist, especially when using zero-intelligence strategies. This is a diagnostic of possible inefficiencies of these financial markets.Comment: 13 pages including 5 figures and 1 tabl

Fibromatosis-like carcinoma-an unusual phenotype of a metaplastic breast tumor associated with a micropapilloma

BACKGROUND: Fibromatosis-like metaplastic carcinoma is a newly described metaplastic breast tumor, literature on which is still evolving. CASE PRESENTATION: A 77-year-old lady presented with a 2 × 2 cm mass with irregular margins in the upper and outer quadrant of left breast. Fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) from the lump was inconclusive. A lumpectomy was performed and sent for frozen section, which revealed presence of spindle cells showing mild atypia in a sclerotic stroma. The tumor cells revealed prominent infiltration into the adjacent fat. A differential diagnosis of a low-grade sarcoma vs. a metaplastic carcinoma, favoring the former, was offered. Final histology sections revealed an infiltrating tumor with predominant spindle cells in a collagenous background, simulating a fibromatosis. Adjacent to the tumor were foci of benign ductal hyperplasia and a micropapilloma. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) showed diffuse co-expression of epithelial markers i.e. cytokeratins (CK, HMWCK, CK7) and EMA along with a mesenchymal marker i.e. vimentin in the tumor cells. Myoepithelial markers (SMA and p63) showed focal positivity. A diagnosis of a low-grade fibromatosis-like carcinoma breast associated with a micropapilloma was formed. CONCLUSION: Fibromatosis-like carcinoma is a rare form of a metaplastic breast tumor. This diagnosis requires an index of suspicion while dealing with spindle cell breast tumors. The importance of making this diagnosis to facilitate an intra operative surgical planning is marred by diagnostic difficulties. In such cases, IHC is imperative in forming an objective diagnosis

Breast cancer risk genes: association analysis in more than 113,000 women

BACKGROUNDGenetic testing for breast cancer susceptibility is widely used, but for many genes, evidence of an association with breast cancer is weak, underlying risk estimates are imprecise, and reliable subtype-specific risk estimates are lacking.METHODSWe used a panel of 34 putative susceptibility genes to perform sequencing on samples from 60,466 women with breast cancer and 53,461 controls. In separate analyses for protein-truncating variants and rare missense variants in these genes, we estimated odds ratios for breast cancer overall and tumor subtypes. We evaluated missense-variant associations according to domain and classification of pathogenicity.RESULTSProtein-truncating variants in 5 genes (ATM, BRCA1, BRCA2, CHEK2, and PALB2) were associated with a risk of breast cancer overall with a P value of less than 0.0001. Protein-truncating variants in 4 other genes (BARD1, RAD51C, RAD51D, and TP53) were associated with a risk of breast cancer overall with a P value of less than 0.05 and a Bayesian false-discovery probability of less than 0.05. For protein-truncating variants in 19 of the remaining 25 genes, the upper limit of the 95% confidence interval of the odds ratio for breast cancer overall was less than 2.0. For protein-truncating variants in ATM and CHEK2, odds ratios were higher for estrogen receptor (ER)-positive disease than for ER-negative disease; for protein-truncating variants in BARD1, BRCA1, BRCA2, PALB2, RAD51C, and RAD51D, odds ratios were higher for ER-negative disease than for ER-positive disease. Rare missense variants (in aggregate) in ATM, CHEK2, and TP53 were associated with a risk of breast cancer overall with a P value of less than 0.001. For BRCA1, BRCA2, and TP53, missense variants (in aggregate) that would be classified as pathogenic according to standard criteria were associated with a risk of breast cancer overall, with the risk being similar to that of protein-truncating variants.CONCLUSIONSThe results of this study define the genes that are most clinically useful for inclusion on panels for the prediction of breast cancer risk, as well as provide estimates of the risks associated with protein-truncating variants, to guide genetic counseling. (Funded by European Union Horizon 2020 programs and others.)Molecular tumour pathology - and tumour geneticsMTG1 - Moleculaire genetica en pathologie van borstkanke

Attitudes towards interracial dating and marriages : examination of the role of interracial contacts in Malmö, Sweden

This paper presents the preliminary findings of my ongoing dissertation project on attitudes towards interracial marriages. The findings are based on an anonymous postal survey conducted in Malmö, and the analysis focuses on 461 white European respondents who have answered the questionnaire. The result shows that the majority of the respondents can imagine dating or marrying interracially, however there are clear preferences of different groups. This paper also exhibits that respondents who have reported interracial friendships, and not general or superficial contacts, are more apt to answering to the question of interracial dating and marriage positively

User Knowledge Management – How University Libraries Analyse User Needs and Develop Services

The demands on library services are quickly changing in a continually updating digital age. This increases the importance of a good understanding of the needs and demands of the users. In order to sample and follow the change in user needs library organisations analyse their efforts using a series of different methods. In a recent survey distributed to all 301 European LIBER university libraries, we asked questions pertaining to methods for quality development, particularly implementation of general user surveys (GUS). Among the 127 answering libraries (42%) we analysed how library services can be developed via a user-centred approach. In general, libraries engaged in explorative methods, such as UX techniques or process mapping, displayed an increased understanding of what the users find as library strengths. On the other hand libraries using primarily reporting tools such as balanced scorecard showed little or no such effect. The library strengths most valued by users in the study were in the areas of the physical library, researcher support - especially in the area of scholarly communication - and information literacy tuition. Several answers indicate that user feedback has helped build institutional profile and image. The results also give an indication of how general user surveys can best be used. Appropriate follow-up after the survey is important in gaining usable results. The key step was the production of a written report, which resulted in a nearly 50% increased chance of obtaining changes in services. Most libraries developed their own surveys for the effort. Services most commonly changed after performing a GUS were in the areas of the physical library, followed by communication/marketing and information literacy tuition. A GUS most often leads to a number of minor service improvements rather than large strategic shifts. This work was commissioned and supported by the former LIBER Working Group on Research and Education

General User Surveys and Other Methods for Quality Assessment – User Knowledge and Evidence-Based Library Development

Aim A key component of library management is meeting the needs of our users. This requires continuous analysis of user experience followed by library development. The aim of this study was to better understand the use and effect of general user surveys (GUS) and other methods of gathering user input for quality assessment and improvement of library activities. Methods Data collection was done via surveys, which were sent out to the library directors of all 308 European LIBER university libraries. The response rate was 42%. After survey collection the free-text answers were coded and categorised and then the results were analysed. Results A majority of the responding libraries (77%) have performed a GUS during the last four years. Of these libraries, 54% reported changes to services based on the surveys. The most common method of obtaining user input was by placing a digital “user suggestion box” on the library website. The next most common method entailed using systematic processes to ensure continuous quality improvements. Discussion/conclusion Nearly half of libraries develop their own survey instruments. Appropriate follow-up after the survey was important in order to assure library development. The key step was producing a written report, which increased success in changes to services by nearly 50%. Changes were observed in all traditional library areas, with most changes reported for the areas of physical library standard, communication/marketing and quality of information literacy education. The changes implemented were typically small steps leading to substantial improvements, rather than larger strategic shifts. Small libraries have limited resources and difficulty arranging large user surveys. They reported higher usage of methods performed in the physical library. The library strengths most valued by users were in the areas of the physical library, researcher support- especially in the area of scholarly communication- and information literacy education. User feedback helps build institutional profile and image. Analysis of the different methods revealed information regarding which methods give the best understanding of the users